Tom Regnier – What did Shakespeare mean by “Kill All the Lawyers”?

Dick the Butcher, a character in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, part 2, urges his fellow conspirators in the Jack Cade rebellion to “kill all the lawyers.” But does that statement reflect Shakespeare’s view toward lawyers? This question must be addressed by examining Dick’s statement in the context of the rebellion as it is presented in the play. This talk was presented at the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship Conference in Hartford, CT on October 18, 2019. Tom Regnier is an appellate attorney with his own practice in the South Florida area. He received his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law, and his from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan F. Stone Scholar. In the past, he has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law (including a course on Shakespeare and the Law) and at Chicago’s John Marshall Law School. Tom has frequently spoken at authorship conferences on aspects of law in Shakespeare’s works, and he contributed chapters to th